Teams: Men's Lacrosse: Press Releases

SEVEN JUMBOS NAMED TO TURFER/NEILA ALL-NEW ENGLAND MEN'S LACROSSE TEAMS

Senior Matt Harrigan was selected as the best goalie in New England by the region's coaches

MEDFORD -- With seven players on the 2009 Turfer/New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-New England teams announced today, the Tufts University men's lacrosse team has the most in the region. The seven Tufts honorees were three more than Wesleyan and Western New England, the next most-recognized teams.

Sophomore attack D.J. Hessler (Monkton, MD/St. Paul's), senior long-stick midfielder Jordan Yarboro (Herndon, VA/Potomac School) and senior goalie Matt Harrigan (Darnestown, MD/Landon) are on the NEILA first team. Senior tri-captain and attack Clem McNally (Far Hills, NJ/St. George's), junior tri-captain and midfielder Mike Droesch (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), sophomore midfielder Matt Witko (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) and junior defender Eytan Saperstein (Hewlett, NY/Hewlett) are on the second team.

Through games of May 3, Hessler was the second leading scorer in New England. He finished the year with 42 goals and 47 assists for 89 points, a new Jumbo single-season scoring record. Yarboro is an All-New England selection for the third straight year. He continued to be a shut-down defender for the Jumbos, scooped up 41 ground balls and scored two goals with two assists. Through May 11, Harrigan leads the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in saves with 205. He had a .579 save percentage and 9.02 goals against average in 991:15 of playing time this spring.

McNally was the region's second-highest goal scorer through May 3 and finished with a Tufts record 53, including a team-high eight in man-up situations. Droesch combined face-off effectiveness with offensive ability, winning .549 percent of his face-offs (150/273) and scoring 10 goals with 14 assists for 24 points. Witko emerged as a serious threat offensively, scoring 23 goals with eight assists, including a seven man-up scores. Saperstein is a take-away defender who led the Jumbos in ground balls not including face-off men with 46. He also chose spots to get involved offensively, with a goal and two assists.

Tufts, ranked third in New England in the final regional poll, finished 13-5 overall and had key non-league regional wins over Mount Ida, Western New England and Endicott.

►2009 Turfer/NEILA All-New England Teams

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